While most people are aware of breast cancer, many forget to take the steps to have a plan to detect the disease in its early stages and encourage others to do the same.

All women are at risk for breast cancer, and as you get older, your risk increases. Researchers estimate that 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer at some time in their lives. This means that the average woman has about a 12-13% risk of developing breast cancer. That might sound scary, but you can look at it another way: a 12-13% risk means there's an 87-88% chance that you WON'T develop breast cancer.

Most breast cancers are NOT inherited -- only about 5% to 10% are. Every woman wants to know what she can do to lower her risk of breast cancer. Some of the factors associated with breast cancer -- being a woman, your age, and your genetics, for example -- can't be changed. Other factors -- maintaining a healthy weight, exercising, not smoking cigarettes, and eating nutritious food -- can be changed by making choices. By choosing the healthiest lifestyle options possible, you can empower yourself and make sure your breast cancer risk is as low as possible.

If you've been diagnosed, there are things you can do beyond any treatments you're receiving to reduce the risk of the cancer coming back or developing a new cancer. And if you are living with advanced-stage breast cancer, you want to do everything you can to slow the cancer's growth.